Don't you just hate it when your grow house gets discovered by firemen putting out a blaze in your home. Jorge Guzman and Yvette Garcia are the latest homeowners who suffered such a fate. According to property records, they own the house at 24644 SW 114th Court which was the scene of a house fire Wednesday afternoon. When Miami-Dade Fire Rescue show up to douse the flames, they stumbled upon 56 plants with a street value of $122,500.
The marijuana blaze is the second such incident to happen in just over a month. On May 4, Fire Rescue responded to a fire at a home at 15622 SW 274th Street, just six miles down South Dixie Highway from yesterday's fire. It's not clear whether the most recent fire got to any of the marijuana plants, but for the sake of the neighborhood we certainly hope so. Hate to see good pot go to waste.
In case you didn't know it, the grow house trade is booming in Miami-Dade, has been for several years. Here are some other recent busts of note:
- In April, New Times reported that North Miami Cops stumbled on a grow house in an apartment complex while investigating a burglary in another unit. A neighbor foolishly opened the door to a detective investigating the case with pot plants in plain view. Inside they discovered 49 plants and $800,000 in cash.
- A former cop was busted growing dope in his West Miami apartment. Even though a tip led to the discovery, we still count this as foolish. A one time cop shouldn't be caught so easily.
- DEA agents found 200 plants in the storage area of the Mall of the Americas in 2008. Some of the plants were six feet tall. And the hydroponics lab was powered by electricity diverted from the mall's main power supply.
